New "Be Strong" trailer for Crysis 2 gives us a glimpse into the story for the game, as well as TONS of new gameplay footage.
"There is no room for the weak in this battle for New York City. Empowered by the Nanosuit 2, you have the ability to Be Strong - stronger than any human could hope to be. Be the Weapon."
With that out of the way, let's move on to our impressions of the multiplayer demo for Crysis 2 that hit Xbox LIVE last week. We couldn't really get into the first Crysis game due to our lackluster computer hardware configuration, so when we initially heard that Crysis 2 would be hitting consoles, as well as the PC, we were VERY excited, to say the least.
The demo was a little hard to grasp, as we're completely new to the Crysis universe, but luckily we knew there were a few abilities available due to the gameplay videos that we have seen in the past, including the video that was released last week to promote the demo release (
you can see it here). It took us a little while to figure out how to use them (right-bumper for cloaking, left-bumper for armor, run and press "b" to power-slide, directional-pad for grenades, vision, etc.).
After figuring out the controls the game became MUCH more fun to play. The demo includes leveling and unlocks, to an extent. You begin with the assault rifle class, but once you hit level five (which wasn't too difficult) you can have the four classes unlocked, as well as a "custom" class that you can play with.
The special abilities don't last forever, so you're constantly battling how long to them active, and when to turn them off to let your energy meter regenerate. Let it fall to low and your armor or cloaking could turn off just when you need it the most!
Overall the weapons and upgrades felt fairly balanced, although the sniper rifle felt somewhat under-powered, which may be due to the gamer’s skill level, or lack thereof, as other players seemed to be able to take us out with headshots regularly. Once unlocked, you can add attachments to your weapons, etc., which gives them that "personal" touch.
The graphics are amazing, as we expected based upon the gameplay footage that we've seen. Large maps, water effects... the demo showed off a little of everything.
The only complaint we have is that the audio seemed a little underwhelming. We played both with our Turtle Beach headset and our home theater, but neither had the "Holy crap I'm in the middle of a fire-fight!" feeling that we expected. Whether this will be true when the final game hits retail shelves remains to be seen.
The demo was a ton of fun, and we can see it doing VERY well against the other first-person shooters out there, especially if you can get the crew online at the same time.
The Story
The world has been ravaged by a series of climatic disasters and society is on the verge of total breakdown. Now the aliens have returned, with a full invasion force bent on nothing less than the total annihilation of mankind, starting by trying to rip the heart out of Earth’s most iconic city: New York.
Just to survive will require technology beyond anything any modern soldier has ever seen. One man will inherit that means to survive. Wielding the combat enhancement technology of the future with Nanosuit 2, you alone will be the weapon that can make a last stand to save humanity from destruction in the urban jungle that is New York City.
Crysis 2 releases March 22nd for the PlayStation 3, PC, and Xbox 360.
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